Shy, Low – Shy, Low

Track List

Shy, Low - Shy, Low

Shy, Low’s debut self-titled full length creates a particular atmosphere; a feeling you can’t seem to shake even hours after the album has ended. Like a collective of divine watchmakers, Shy, Low has created a dynamic universe of deep swells, dark, cathartic crescendos, and powerful emotional releases, and all the while completely lacking lyrics, inviting the listener to define and explore this universe for themselves.

Richmond, Virginia’s Shy, Low has been together just over a year and have no plans to stop. Although the art and music scenes of their hometown have been somewhat diminished by city ordinances, Shy, Low continues to play whenever they can and with two tours out of the way, they seem to show no fear of crossing borders to reach new audiences. The road is a second home to Shy, Low and whenever the opportunity arises, they’re traveling.
Shy, Low does not crave fame or fortune. Their love for music and comradery drives them to create something new and unique. As long as those things exist in unison, they will continue on the path the music paves. The latest release embodies the values and experiences of Shy, Low whilst allowing the listener to create their own meaning.

REVIEWS

A Closer Listen / Richard Allen

Fluttery Records loves classic post-rock: ambient builds, dialogue breakdowns, thick crescendoes. Shy, Low (a play on “Shiloh”, the former capital of Israel) is its latest discovery. This Richmond band gets right into it with “Confirmation Bias” (that’s Alec Baldwin in “Malice”, declaring, “I am God”) and never slows down. Here we find the martial drums, the wailing guitars, the sense of inflated urgency that typically precedes a post-rock climax. As a debut, it’s easy to like: while it’s not particularly original, it’s certainly good enough to satisfy the typical post-rock fan, and at times is reminiscent of The Seven Mile Journey. Oddly enough, Bandcamp has tagged Shy, Low as “ambient downtempo indie”, which is certainly not the case. Sure, there are a few moments of quiet, but then BOOM! ~ back to the boulder.

The rollicking beats are often the highlight of the tracks, especially as they shift into higher gear, as they do in the final two minutes of “Light Feet”. This is one drummer who earns his Gatorade. ”The Tide” should probably have been excised, as interludes featuring ocean samples are de rigueur; but the two longer tracks (“The Golden Hour” and “Farewell: A New Beginning”) make up for it. The former contains a build that occasionally slips into nothingness, allowing for dynamic contrast; a xylophone lends beauty to the end. This same instrument appears on the latter, bolstered by a bank of crushing guitars, leading the track to a satisfying finale. With this debut, the band has proven that it has the skills; the next challenge will be to stretch its wings.

Sea of Tranquility / Gert Hulshof

Post-rock is what Shy, Low create, mellow easing, soothing music, or like one of my friends once said, music of the long notes. Slowly building a song, literally crafting it brick by brick, cementing layer by cement-layer until some sort of climax is to be reached. In the meantime varying on the same schematic same notes played in diversity..

I personally have a weakness for this type of music, mostly because it usually consists of instrumental pieces, music only, leaving me my own space for creativity and allowing me to depict the stories in my own brain. Shy, Low bring the Post rock in a very mature fashion, the self titled album is their debut album it is out on Fluttery Records.

Band members Sean Doody-Ian Currie- Bryant-Gregg Peterson have succeeded in making an album containing six tracks of Post Rock of sheer excellence. A lot can be written about them, many a thing said. In my humble opinion any Post Rock fan should own this debut album.

It is all there the gigantic sound of the Post Rock genre, with great guitars, walking bass lines, all slowly working towards the massive climax. 6 tracks varying in length from just over 4 minutes to a little less than 10 minutes. All in all just a tiny bit more than 40 minutes worth of highly contagious post-rock.